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by B. C. Lienesch (Author)
Jackson Clay was always good at finding things. Now, having paid his debt to society, he'll find his way back.
Tucked away in the Appalachian Mountains on Virginia's western border is a mysterious, reclusive retreat. The locals and outsiders call it 'Happyland' for the pastel- and polo-strewn blue bloods seen being ferried to and from its grounds. Quiet and unassuming, everyone pays it little mind, but behind its pristine walls hide its dark secrets.
On Bull Run Mountain outside Washington, DC, Jackson Clay is slowly picking up the pieces of the life he was willing to throw away. It's been two years since he was led away in handcuffs, having served a commuted sentence for nearly killing the man that took his ex-wife and young son from him, when an old friend comes to him with a proposition. Virginia State Police Special Agent Jen Bailey has been assigned to a new interagency task force after a string of bad headlines over human trafficking have plagued the commonwealth. Determined to take the fight to those responsible, she wants coax Clay - and by extension, his cohort, Bear - out of exile and put him to work doing what he does best: uncovering the truth.
Meanwhile, across the country, Ainsley Jensen is counting down the days until she graduates high school and can leave her dead-end life in the Arizona desert. When her old troubled home life catches up with her, she decides to cut and run early. A friend plans on following their sister to work out East. It all promises her a fresh start and, more importantly, more money than she could ever hope to make back in Arizona. But as she descends into a world that preys on the naively hopeful, she begins to face nightmares she never imagined.
Everyone's paths will collide on the grounds of the secretive resort. As Jackson and Bear work to infiltrate the group behind it, Ainsley is desperate to escape the darkness she's unknowingly waded into. But there is real money and power at work behind the veil of Happyland, and those who have it will do anything to keep it. As Jackson, Bear, and Ainsley's paths cross, heading in opposite directions and fighting for different things, they'll unite behind one common cause: Getting out alive.
